Boco the Mixed Traffic Diesel Engine
| Boco the Mixed Traffic Diesel Engine | |
|---|---|
| Thomas & Friends character | |
| First appearance | "The Diseasel"(Thomas & Friends) |
| Last appearance | Stepney Gets Lost (T&F) |
| Created by | Rev. W. Awdry |
| Voiced by | unknown |
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BoCo is a green mixed-traffic diesel engine, which primarily works on Edward's Branch Line and occasionally on the Main Line.
Biography[edit]
The Railway Series[edit]
BoCo was built for British Railways on 29 September 1958, and along with the rest of his class worked in the Barrow-in-Furness area from 1962. In 1965 he found his way to the Brendam Branch Line. Sir Topham Hatt expressed interest in buying him, and British Railways allowed him to keep the engine for trials. These proved satisfactory, and BoCo was purchased.
BoCo once accidentally took Bill and Ben's China clay trucks. The twins decided to play a trick on him, playing on their identical looks to make the diesel think that one engine was vanishing and reappearing around him. Edward was nearby to sort out the confusion and Bill and Ben soon came to respect BoCo.
Duck, who was suspicious of types of diesel due to his own experience, nevertheless took quickly to BoCo when the diesel took trucks to Tidmouth and found out that he was good friends with Edward. The two started talking in the shed, but were interrupted when James arrived and called BoCo a "buzz box." Ironically, James was attacked by a swarm of bees the next day and so BoCo had to take the Express. Gordon was furious that a mere branch line diesel got to pull a mainline train. Gordon was later stranded on Edward's branch line due to a signalmen's error. Bill and Ben were quick to tease Gordon and jokingly threatened to haul him away as scrap or dump him into the harbour. When BoCo arrived with some trucks, he sent Bill and Ben to work and the relieved Gordon felt he owed his life to BoCo.
When Edward had trouble pulling an enthusiasts' train, BoCo helped Duck to shut the big engines up, who said Edward should be preserved. BoCo later filled in on the branch line while Edward was at Crovan's Gate Works. Donald and Douglas were the last engines to accept BoCo.
BoCo showed Diesel 40125 around but abandoned him when the new diesel insulted the Fat Controller for keeping steam engines in service. Things had been smoothed over between James and BoCo by this time.
BoCo tried to cheer Gordon up when he got into trouble for spraying ashes onto a wedding party and later helped him to Barrow-in-Furness when his fire bars collapsed. BoCo also helped Edward to the Works when his bogie wheel snapped off and ran the branch line while Edward was undergoing an overhaul. BoCo met Victoria when Edward stopped at Wellsworth with her while being brought back to service on Thomas' Branch Line and later laughed at Donald after his accident with a set of buffers.
Thomas & Friends[edit]
Bill and Ben were once called to the yard to help shunt trains for BoCo. The two began fighting after an incident with the turntable and soon began to give each other silent treatment. Edward thought this attitude was counterproductive, so BoCo came up with a plan: convincing the Fat Controller to let him take a special, BoCo's own heavy goods train was left behind, with only Bill and Ben to pull-neither would be strong enough to pull the train alone, so the two had to compromise and work together to finish the job. When the first eight engines went to the Mainland, BoCo was part of a group of engines designated to take over the major jobs of the railway.
Eventually, BoCo lost his buffer in keeping the twins in line and the Fat Controller decided to bring in a new diesel, Derek. Derek, however, had major "teething" troubles and was prone to overheating. BoCo had to bring workmen to help Derek when he first broke down.
Personality[edit]
BoCo is a tame diesel engine, who is sensible, kind, and has a decent sense of humor. He is also very disciplined, as seen as he stops Bill and Ben from their pranks. Upon his arrival, he was unfortunate enough to be set upon by the mischievous Bill and Ben, when, thinking he had intentionally stolen their trucks, they pretended to be one engine and nearly made his eyes pop out. BoCo is now wise to the tank engine twins' pranks though he still somewhat humors them to a point. He is also good friends with Bill, Ben, Edward, and Duck. He is a true friend and is often willing to stick up for the underdog. BoCo is firm, but fair and friendly in his nature, not being afraid to speak his mind. Even Gordon soon thought of him in high regard when he "saved" him from Bill and Ben's antics. BoCo upholds a more praiseworthy and respectable, likable image for diesel engines everywhere, being happy to show the more pompous steam engines that diesel has their uses. BoCo helps bring good order across Edward's Branch Line, even occasionally pulling Main Line trains, as the Fat Controller recognizes how versatile he is.
Technical Details[edit]
Basis[edit]
BoCo is based on a British Rail (BR) Class 28 Co-Bo diesel-electric engine. Diesel 5701 is also based on this engine. BoCo's name is derived from his Co-Bo wheel arrangement, though reversed as the Rev. W. Awdry thought "BoCo" sounded more affectionate. These engines were initially used on the "Condor" express freight services but the class's Crossley engines quickly proved problematic. They suffered frequent failures, and in 1961 the entire class was handed back to the manufacturer for remedial work on the engines, and to cure problems with cab windows falling out while running. Upon return to service in 1962, all members of the class were allocated to Barrow-in-Furness. BoCo was susceptible to the mechanical failures of his class – according to the Awdrys, however, the Fat Controller eventually found a fix to prevent these malfunctions. The real engines were not so fortunate, and most were withdrawn and scrapped by 1969.
BoCo's number belonged to a real BR Class 28. The real D5702 was built on 29 September 1958 and was withdrawn on 7th September 1968, before being scrapped at J. Cashmore Scrapyards the following year.
In the annuals, BoCo mentions a brother of his – Diesel 5705, a real preserved engine, who is the last surviving Class 28. In another annual, BoCo claimed to have a twin called "CoBo" in order to play a trick on Bill and Ben.
Livery[edit]
BoCo is painted in the BR Brunswick green livery. He has yellow warning panels on his front and back end. In the television series, BoCo is painted in a more vibrant shade of green without yellow warning panels on his front and back end. "D5702" is painted on the sides of his cab in white.
In The Railway Series, BoCo has a yellow face. However, in Main Line Engines, he was first depicted with a yellow end from below his mouth to half-way up his nose. The top half of BoCo's nose and his eyes were in his green paintwork. This is evident in the fourth and sixth illustrations of "The Diseasel" as well as the last illustration of "Edward's Exploit". This type of face was also shown in "Old Stuck-Up" in "James and the Diesel Engines". Since he had two faces at each end of him, this could explain why his face differs in different illustrations. In the television series, he has a grey face on one end only to match the other characters.
Appearances[edit]
The Railway Series[edit]
- Main Line Engines – The Diseasel, Buzz, Buzz, Wrong Road, and Edward's Exploit
- James and the Diesel Engines – Old Stuck-Up
- Gordon the High-Speed Engine – Smokescreen, Fire Escape (does not speak), and Gordon Proves His Point (cameo)
- Thomas and the Fat Controller's Engines – Edward and the Cabbages (does not speak)
- Thomas and Victoria – Avalanche (mentioned) and Toby's Vintage Train (mentioned)
- Thomas and his Friends – Buffer Bashing (cameo)
Companion Volumes[edit]
- 1972 – The Railway Series: Surprise Packet
- 1976 – Famous Engines and Railway Map of the Island of Sodor
- 1986 – Thomas and the Missing Christmas Tree (cameo) and Thomas the Tank Engine: The Complete Collection
- 1987 – The Island of Sodor: Its People, History, and Railways (mentioned)
- 2005 – Sodor: Reading Between the Lines (mentioned)
- 2007 – Thomas the Tank Engine: The New Collection
Thomas & Friends[edit]
- Series 2 – The Diseasel, Wrong Road, Edward's Exploit, and Thomas and the Missing Christmas Tree (cameo)
- Series 3 – Buzz, Buzz, One Good Turn, Escape (cameo), and Bulgy (cameo)
- Series 4 – Rusty to the Rescue (not named) and Thomas and the Special Letter
- Series 5 – Double Teething Troubles and Stepney Gets Lost (stock footage cameo)
If you want to see the full episode with BoCo's first appearance click here(subtitles included)
Books[edit]
- 1986 – Annual and Thomas Comes to Breakfast and BoCo the Diseasel
- 1987 – Annual
- 1992 – BoCo the Diseasel
- 1993 – Edward's Exploit and Other Thomas the Tank Engine Stories and Colouring Book
- 1995 – James and the Bees and The Mischievous Twins
- 1998 – Breakfast-Time for Thomas (not named)
- 2004 – All About Thomas the Tank Engine and his friends (mentioned)
- 2006 – Thomas' Big Storybook
- 2008 – BoCo and Thomas' Sticker Express
- 2011 – BoCo the Big Friendly Diesel, The Big Book of Engines (mentioned), and The Ultimate Diesel Guide (does not speak)
References[edit]
https://ttte.fandom.com/wiki/BoCo
Text was copied from BoCo at Thomas the Tank Engine Wiki, which is released under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 (Unported) (CC-BY-SA 3.0) license.
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